{"id":78899,"date":"2023-08-24T09:29:02","date_gmt":"2023-08-24T14:29:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.familytreedna.com\/?p=78899"},"modified":"2026-03-13T15:20:19","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T20:20:19","slug":"surname-types","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.familytreedna.com\/es\/surname-types\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s in a Name? Six Types of Surnames You Might Find in Your Family Tree"},"content":{"rendered":"<section class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\"><p>[vc_row][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/1&#8243;][vc_column_text uncode_shortcode_id=&#8221;150763&#8243;]By: Jim Brewster<\/p>\n<h2>The origin of a surname can vary based on the type you are researching. Understanding what type of surname you&#8217;re looking into can help optimize your research.<\/h2>\n<p>Ah names. From Rumplestiltskin to A Boy Named Sue, names have held great, even mystical, power throughout all cultures and times. There are almost as many names as there are people in the world, and each has a meaning.<\/p>\n<p>Whether that name is simply an identifier or it holds a deeper meaning, it is important for genealogists and family historians to trace the bewildering maze that can be ancestral names.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Surnames hold particular significance among genealogists,<\/strong> as they are often inherited from ancestors and remain unchanged (or only slightly changed) throughout many generations. This can be crucial to understanding how ancestors and families connect, but it can also be confusing when you come across different, unrelated people with the same surname.<\/p>\n<p>There are clues to why some names may be shared by unrelated people or why they seem to change so abruptly in the same proven lineage. Many types of surnames follow various naming conventions and come about at a specific time and place for a specific reason in history.<\/p>\n<p>Types of surnames:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Occupational:<\/strong> assigned based on the skills that someone provided to the community.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Patronymic:<\/strong> passed down from the father\u2019s first name<\/li>\n<li><strong>Toponymic:<\/strong> carried based on the location on the family line<\/li>\n<li><strong>Clan Names:<\/strong> adopted from the family clan<\/li>\n<li><strong>Epithet\/Byname:<\/strong> nicknames given by the community<\/li>\n<li><strong>Napoleonic Code:<\/strong> names assigned to families based on the tax level of the family<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Let\u2019s explore some of these conventions to better understand what they mean<\/p>\n<h2>Occupational Surnames Denote Someone\u2019s Occupation<\/h2>\n<p>Say you live way back in Ye Olde Times, and in your little village, there are three men named John. Each of them has different occupations, so to make things easier, everyone in Ye Olde Village calls them John the blacksmith, John the carpenter, and John the cobbler. [\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image media=&#8221;78901&#8243; media_lightbox=&#8221;yes&#8221; media_width_percent=&#8221;75&#8243; shadow=&#8221;yes&#8221; shadow_weight=&#8221;sm&#8221; shadow_darker=&#8221;yes&#8221; lbox_social=&#8221;yes&#8221; uncode_shortcode_id=&#8221;152974&#8243;][vc_column_text uncode_shortcode_id=&#8221;140144&#8243;]That\u2019s a bit cumbersome, so you just shorten it to John Smith, John Carpenter, and John Cobbler. Boom, now you have a surname.<\/p>\n<h3>Modern-day Occupational Surnames<\/h3>\n<p>We do the same thing today, even if you don\u2019t realize it. When I need to add someone\u2019s number to my contact list (that\u2019s a fancy Rolodex for those of you who still live in Ye Olde Village), to better remember them, I\u2019ll enter them as \u201cTom Handyman,&#8221; \u201cJennifer Petsitter,\u201d or \u201cKaren Avoidatallcosts.\u201d It\u2019s basically assigning them a surname to help us better identify them.<\/p>\n<p>Occupations often got passed down in families, and they were the family trade. To make things easier, everyone in Ye Olde Village just adds that occupational surname to the whole family, and thus we have a legacy and a lineage to pass down. These occupational names carry over through migrations as well, so some names are occupational names, just from languages other than ones you are familiar with.<\/p>\n<h2>Patronymic Surnames Are Inherited From the Father<\/h2>\n<p>In some cultures, a particular industry was very important. For example, a major export for many areas of medieval Scandinavia was textiles and clothing. Well, you can only have so many people running around with occupational surnames like Tailor, Weaver, or Dyer before it gets just as confusing as all the Johns in Ye Olde Village. Instead, they adopted a form of surname called patronymics (or, in some cases, matronymics).<\/p>\n<p><strong>With patronymics, children were named after the father.<\/strong> For example, William\u2019s sons would be named Williamson, while his daughters would be named Williamsdotter. While effective, this also meant that surnames changed with each successive generation. William\u2019s son Eric would be Eric Williamson; his son would be John Ericson; and so on. Many lineages have since decided to abandon this practice, and at some point, an ancestor set a fixed surname.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image media=&#8221;78907&#8243; media_lightbox=&#8221;yes&#8221; media_width_percent=&#8221;75&#8243; shadow=&#8221;yes&#8221; shadow_weight=&#8221;sm&#8221; shadow_darker=&#8221;yes&#8221; lbox_social=&#8221;yes&#8221; uncode_shortcode_id=&#8221;110190&#8243;][vc_column_text uncode_shortcode_id=&#8221;519268&#8243;]One unique difficulty of this naming pattern is that you have many people with the same surname (e.g., Johnson) who are not genetically related; they just all happened to have an ancestor named John, whose descendants affixed the surname. There are a number of surname projects based on Scandinavian patronymic names for this reason.<\/p>\n<p>This same pattern has been used in many cultures over time. Here are a few examples:<\/p>\n<h3>Welsh Patronyms<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20061015011121\/http:\/\/www.amlwchdata.co.uk\/welsh_surnames.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Welsh children would take the forename as a surname.<\/strong><\/a> For example, Evan, son of Thomas, would be Evan Thomas. In some cases, word stems meaning \u201cson of\u201d or \u201cdaughter of\u201d were incorporated in various ways. For example \u201cson of John\u201d turned to \u201cJones\u201d, and \u201cDavid\u201d turned to \u201cDavis\u201d and so on.<\/p>\n<h3>Gaelic Patronyms<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Mac-surname-prefix\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>The prefixes \u201cMac,\u201d \u201cMc,\u201d and O\u2019\u201d all mean \u201cSon of.\u201d<\/strong><\/a> When the prefix was followed by the letter C, the C was often dropped. Thus, MacGuire became Maguire, MacGuinness became Magennis, and so on.<\/p>\n<p>There is a myth that \u201cMac\u201d is Irish while \u201cMc\u201d is Scottish, though this is unfounded.<\/p>\n<h3>Russian Patronyms<\/h3>\n<p><strong>There are three components to Russian names<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/speechling.com\/blog\/the-ultimate-guide-to-russian-names-for-russian-language-learners\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">First name, family name, and patronymic<\/a>. The patronymic portion follows the same pattern as described above, with the father\u2019s first name + a suffix of -evna or -ovna for women and -ich, -ovich, or -evich for men.<\/p>\n<p>For example, if you meet Lyudmila Nikolayevna, you already know tha she&#8217;s the daughter of a man named Nikolai. While Ekaterina Aleksandrovna has a father named Aleksandr.<\/p>\n<p>For, the name of the famous author Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky, we can see &#8216;Mikhailovich.&#8217; From this we know his father&#8217;s name was Mikhail.<\/p>\n<h2>Toponymic Surnames Give Clues About Geography<\/h2>\n<p>These are surnames related to places. These are popular among English and Scottish naming conventions, among others. They were used particularly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pricegen.com\/name-surnames\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">when a family emigrated to a new area to identify their birthplace<\/a>. Some examples would be Attenborough. Polish names ending in -owski reflect the same convention.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image media=&#8221;78908&#8243; media_lightbox=&#8221;yes&#8221; media_width_percent=&#8221;75&#8243; shadow=&#8221;yes&#8221; shadow_weight=&#8221;sm&#8221; shadow_darker=&#8221;yes&#8221; lbox_social=&#8221;yes&#8221; uncode_shortcode_id=&#8221;316497&#8243;][vc_column_text uncode_shortcode_id=&#8221;881438&#8243;]<\/p>\n<h3>Physical Landmark Surnames<\/h3>\n<p>In some cases, this may refer to a geographic feature rather than a town. Rockwell, Hill, and Roach are all examples. The last is an example of a language change, as it derives from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.houseofnames.com\/roach-family-crest#:~:text=The%20surname%20Roach%20is%20derived,surname%20Roach%20is%20de%20R%C3%B3iste\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Old French word roche (rock)<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Some Surnames Derived From Clan Names<\/h2>\n<p>Similar to patronymics, members of a particular tribe or clan would identify themselves as members of their group by adopting the name of the clan patriarch. This means adopted members of the clan would adopt the surname while not being genetically related.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image media=&#8221;78910&#8243; media_lightbox=&#8221;yes&#8221; media_width_percent=&#8221;75&#8243; shadow=&#8221;yes&#8221; shadow_weight=&#8221;sm&#8221; shadow_darker=&#8221;yes&#8221; uncode_shortcode_id=&#8221;145729&#8243;][vc_column_text uncode_shortcode_id=&#8221;548391&#8243;]This is accomplished in various ways in different cultures. Possibly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.heraldryandcrests.com\/blogs\/news\/irish-surnames\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the most well known examples come from Ireland and Scotland<\/a>. The prefixes Mac and Mc mean \u201cSon of\u201d while O\u2019 (for men) and Ui\u2019 (for women) mean \u201cdescendent of\u201d. These prefixes are sometimes anglicized to be gender neutral.<\/p>\n<h2>Epithet\/Byname: Surnames That Originated As Nicknames<\/h2>\n<p>An Epithet or Byname surname is basically a glorified nickname. In many cases, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cambridgescholars.com\/product\/978-1-4438-7619-3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">these were the precursors to surnames<\/a>, used to differentiate people with the same name. [\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image media=&#8221;78911&#8243; media_lightbox=&#8221;yes&#8221; media_width_percent=&#8221;75&#8243; shadow=&#8221;yes&#8221; shadow_weight=&#8221;sm&#8221; shadow_darker=&#8221;yes&#8221; lbox_social=&#8221;yes&#8221; uncode_shortcode_id=&#8221;213230&#8243;][vc_column_text uncode_shortcode_id=&#8221;131537&#8243;]After all, we wouldn\u2019t want to confuse Richard of Cornwall with Richard the Lionheart. Think Alexander the Great, Attila the Hun, or my personal favorite, \u00c6thelred the Unready.<\/p>\n<p>Bynames could also be about a person\u2019s appearance. If you had red hair, you might\u2019ve had the byname John Roux in France. If you were not wealthy, you might\u2019ve been called John Scholl in Germany. If you had a sunny disposition, you might\u2019ve been called John Merriweather.<\/p>\n<h2>Napoleonic Code: Some People Chose Their Own Surname<\/h2>\n<p>In some places, surnames were imposed for tax purposes. For example, prior to the 18th century, many Ashkenazi Jewish people used patronymics that changed every generation and did not adopt fixed surnames until Napoleon came along and wanted to tax everyone. Thus, there were many different, unrelated families that adopted the same surname. This is one reason that Jewish genealogy can be challenging. [\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image media=&#8221;78912&#8243; media_lightbox=&#8221;yes&#8221; media_width_percent=&#8221;75&#8243; shadow=&#8221;yes&#8221; shadow_weight=&#8221;sm&#8221; shadow_darker=&#8221;yes&#8221; lbox_social=&#8221;yes&#8221; uncode_shortcode_id=&#8221;297418&#8243;][vc_column_text uncode_shortcode_id=&#8221;105379&#8243;]Many Dutch surnames today come from Napoleon\u2019s decree and translate to different phrases, like Leeflang (live long), Vroegop (awake early), and Schuddeboom (shake the tree).<\/p>\n<p>Some names were more popular than others in different geographic areas, so while the surname may have been recent, it can reveal some clues about the regions these names came from.<\/p>\n<h2>Conclusion<\/h2>\n<p>While a conclusion is not typically a surname convention, it is often used as a suffix for articles, essays, and blogs. It is rarely used in professional writing, as it is usually pretty obvious that the piece of writing is coming to a close, but my hero, Captain Obvious (a type of Epithet), is a big fan of them. Thus, I, Jim the Blog Writer, am going to use one.<\/p>\n<p>In conclusion, surnames are important for finding your identity, your ancestry, and your origins. They provide clues to occupation, location, ethnicity, and much more. [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/4&#8243;][vc_single_image media=&#8221;78292&#8243; media_width_percent=&#8221;100&#8243; media_ratio=&#8221;one-one&#8221; shape=&#8221;img-circle&#8221; uncode_shortcode_id=&#8221;859549&#8243;][\/vc_column][vc_column width=&#8221;3\/4&#8243;][vc_column_text uncode_shortcode_id=&#8221;622532&#8243;]<\/p>\n<h2>About the Author<\/h2>\n<h3>Jim Brewster<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Contractor for FamilyTreeDNA<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Jim Brewster was born at a very early age and gradually became older. He has been in the genetic genealogy field since 2014 and delivered numerous presentations at genealogy conferences. He has helped with collaborations between FamilyTreeDNA and non-profit organizations and for some reason FamilyTreeDNA decided to let him write stuff too.<\/p>\n<p>With a proven track record of both doing things and accomplishing stuff, Jim enjoys presenting and writing about genetic genealogy methods and the science of DNA testing. In his free time, he enjoys reviewing classic literature in his blog (thequickversion.net), puns, and cat pictures.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/section>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What do you know about where your surname comes from? Understanding surname origins can help you research the origins of your family line.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":78914,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[118,1206],"tags":[1201,1249,1255],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v21.2 (Yoast SEO v21.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What\u2019s in a Name? Six Types of Surnames You Might Find in Your Family Tree - FamilyTreeDNA Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Explore six different surname types and learn how understanding their origins can help you in your genealogy research.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.familytreedna.com\/surname-types\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What\u2019s in a Name? Six Types of Surnames You Might Find in Your Family Tree\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What do you know about where your surname comes from? Understanding surname origins can help you research the origins of your family line.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blog.familytreedna.com\/surname-types\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"FamilyTreeDNA Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/FamilyTreeDNA\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-08-24T14:29:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-13T20:20:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/blog.familytreedna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Whats-in-a-Name_-Six-Types-of-Surnames-You-Might-Find-in-Your-Family-Tree-FamilyTreeDNA-Blog.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"FamilyTreeDNA\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@FamilyTreeDNA\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@FamilyTreeDNA\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"FamilyTreeDNA\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.familytreedna.com\/surname-types\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.familytreedna.com\/surname-types\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"FamilyTreeDNA\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.familytreedna.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c04f89739a101444416709433705b3fa\"},\"headline\":\"What\u2019s in a Name? 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